Cloud-Based Project Management with TeamPlatform

TeamPlatform is a service for those who provide engineering services, or
for those who want to share and collaborate product designs that consist of
3D CAD assemblies, 2D CAD drawings, and even large 3D scans and meshes. It
quickly sets up online workspaces for working in partnerships to support
projects.

Simon Bae is the CEO and co-founder at TeamPlatform. He and his crew
envisioned and brought to market a new way to connect businesses,
effectively sharing and collaborating designs no matter the complexity or
the CAD format. The service for engineering industries launched in March,
2012 as cloud-based software giving engineering data the same flexibility
for sharing among design and project management professionals as a standard
FTP or shared drives. In addition, they added workflow tools that are fast
to use and easy to set up.

Workflow rules allow users to manage a synchrony of tasks, landslide of
notifications, and piles of files. TeamPlatform provides dynamic tools for
viewing, estimating, and working with a variety of media including 2D and 3D
CAD, 2D and 3D scanned data, videos, photos, renderings, animations, and
common office documents, such as Word and Excel. This kind of proficiency
makes media easy to use and central to the workflow process (see figure 1).

TeamPlatform represents itself as a broad tool with a variety of uses. To
learn more, I spoke with Scott Anderson, TeamPlatform’s business development
manager. He told me that the goal of TeamPlatform is “to help people and
companies work together much more easily and quickly than with conventional
tools.” Right now, the company focuses on engineering services, product
design, and development, including 3D scanning for reverse engineering and
3D printing for rapid prototyping and additive manufacturing. Mr Anderson
said that the company foresees broader applications over time, such as BIM
collaboration, planning construction trades and tradeshows, and doing event
planning.

3D Management Tools

As my next step, I examined Team Platform’s 3D management tools, and
quickly discovered this is one area which differentiates TeamPlatform from
generalized FTP and file sharing tools: it allows interaction with the 3D
data alongside the workflow and collaboration tools.

The workspace supports an extremely wide range of 3D formats, without
specialized or third-party plug-ins required. The list includes SolidWorks,
CATIA, Siemens NX, PRO/E, and Autodesk. Naturally, it views vendor-neutral
3D CAD files such as IGES, STEP, STL, PLY, and FLS, allowing users to view
3D files online. The system creates thumbnails of the 3D data automatically,
providing a visual search tool. This minimizes the need to download, send by
FTP, or email the files; more importantly, it allows users to search
metadata within the platform, which results in quicker CAD files searches.
In addition to searches through comments, owner, and other labels inherent
to data, users can search by custom CAD file properties, all the way down to
assemblies and sub-assemblies.

With support for 3D scan and mesh formats such as FARO laser scan point
clouds and many others in TeamPlatform, this provides users the ability to
use this type of data for reverse engineering, general inspection, and
surface roadway and pipeline inspections. TeamPlatform manages real-world
laser scanning projects online, which can be gigabytes and terabytes of
data. The system includes a series of online visualization tools, such as
top (plan) view and full 3D views; measurements, markups, and annotations;
and scan data and metadata extraction. The 3D scan and mesh formats are
typically then used with other online projects workspaces (see figure 2).

Figure 2: TeamPlatform's online
review of captured point cloud data

TeamPlatform provides simple yet advanced practices for working with the
assemblies and sub-assemblies. This makes it easy to share 3D data and
complex assemblies. For example, procurement can compile and export a
listing of assembly parts to an Excel spreadsheet. Engineering and
manufacturing can trace assembly structures across a workspace, or zip and
download assemblies directly from TeamPlatform, keeping the assembly
references in place.

The 3D file management utilities provide a full set of tools for viewing,
marking up, and scaling 2D CAD files online. Collaborators can communicate
and share drawings for revision review and engineering or shop floor
annotations.

Case History

Mr Anderson put me in touch with one of his company’s customers, Avance
Design, LLC. Tony Parker, a principal and design engineer at Avance Design,
explained to me that his company is a 3D CAD-centric design and development
studio based in Indianapolis. Their customers are industrial designers,
medical device manufacturers. and consumer product designers across the US.
His company provides rapid prototyping services, mold and pattern
development, and short-run manufacturing. This is done using 3D printing or
other additive manufacturing techniques - along with the engineering
services that they provide. They own and operate several types of 3D
printers, and have been using TeamPlatform since October.

Parker explained that as the business grew and his customers’ projects
needs changed, the internal processes and communication tools were becoming
exceedingly more difficult to maintain within his company. Avance Design was
spending a lot of money each year just to keep current on needed licenses to
view customer 3D CAD files, such as for CATIA. To compete with larger 3D
printing service bureaus, they found they needed to provide online quoting,
3D viewing, and a customer support portal.

As a result, Parker and his partners evaluated several PLM [product
lifecycle management] solutions, but found that they required a lot of
additional integration work. The pre-determined rule settings of these PLM
systems were not necessarily applicable to their business model. They even
investigated the option of developing their own system internally, but
Avance Design discovered that the development and licensing costs to the
necessary viewers were prohibitive for a small business like theirs.

It was the savings on viewing licenses alone that justified the switch to
TeamPlatform. As they implemented TeamPlatform, Avance Design found the
solution to be easy to set up. It gave them immediate utilization, allowing
them to provide sharing and collaboration to their customers, as well as the
ability to provide 3D printing quotes quickly. This made them more
competitive with larger 3D printing houses.

Interacting with Data Beyond CAD

TeamPlatform exports workspace data and product assembly trees to Excel
spreadsheets. This lets users make quick estimates for materials and
assembly planning based on 3D designs. These can be applied to prototyping,
manufacturing, subcontracting, and outsourcing.

Employing formulas and macros, users can integrate the exported data
within Excel templates for workflow automation processes, such as instant
bill of material generation, creation of 3D printing service quotes, and
business activity intelligence reports. Alternatively, users can build Gantt
charts within the TeamPlatform system to show task priorities, timelines,
and related scheduling (see figure 4).

Figure 4: Creating a Gantt chart in
TeamPlatform for setting up tasks and monitoring project timelines

Accurate quoting is the key to efficiently determining the production
costs (and minimizing them) for 3D printing service bureaus and prototype
shops. TeamPlatform delivers instant and automated estimates and quotes,
allowing Avance Design to be more competitive. Mr Parker discovered, “We
didn’t need to spend a mountain of time or money to develop a professional
quoting system.” With template pages available, they quickly implemented and
then deployed a client-facing RFQ (request for quotation) Web page,
personalized with a logo, and then allowed customers and internal users to
submit quotes and upload 3D models.

TeamPlatform Pricing

Pricing is simple and straightforward, with three levels: Basic (no
charge), Pro Team ($25/per member per month), and Enterprise (contact
sales). Pricing is based primarily on the number of administrators,
workspaces, and storage required. One unstinting feature is the ability to
invite guests to access the platform at no additional charge, even at the
Basic level.

TeamPlatform offers an API to integrate online or offline CRM (customer
relationship management), CAD, PDM, SCM, ERP (enterprise resource planning),
or PLM, or even an accounting systems. The price for this is based on the
number of requests that made from the platform.

Support, Training, Documentation

In terms of support, training and documentation, Mr Anderson explained
they designed TeamPlatform to be easy to use and learn. I found getting
started easy, because the interface is self-explanatory, with help tips
where needed.

New users can attend Webinars, which are held on Wednesdays. A video
series facilitates the quick start. Documentation is available online at a
dedicated support portal. TeamPlatform support staff is available for
specialized help and unique applications.

Conclusion

TeamPlatform is an adaptable tool for a variety of types of users needing
to collaborate on 3D data and related workflows. Some organizations might
balk at the simplified level of management controls, or perhaps have a
concern over sharing sensitive or proprietary data in the cloud. Companies
already using existing PLM or PDM (product data management) systems might
find that using TeamPlatform can outwit the rules established within the
system.

Overall, TeamPlatform emphasizes the natural engagement of project
stakeholders. Through user-friendly task management tools, project meta-data
structuring, and re-usable workspace templates, information and 3D data can
be shared. It supports the development and adjustment of workflows to best
fit a project’s needs.